BEAUSOLIEL FIRST NATION/CHRISTIAN ISLAND – The skeletal remains found in an isolated area on the Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island could possibly be that of an Owen Sound man who has been missing since November 2013 when his small airplane crashed into Georgian Bay near Wasaga Beach.
Oscar Burnside, 64, was the pilot and sole passenger onboard his 1973 Cessna airplane on November 7, 2013 which was en route to Owen Sound when it crashed. His plane left Cornwall at 5:10 pm and was scheduled to land at Billy Bishop Regional Airport, just east of Owen Sound at 7:55 pm. According to a Transportation Safety Board investigator, the last signal was at 7:30 pm and came from Burnside’s cell phone. Weather conditions in that area that day were windy with sleet.
The Southern Georgian Bay OPP and OPP Central Region Snowmobile ATV and Vessel Enforcement (S.A.V.E.) team, two aircraft from the Canadian Forces Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, two from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association and an OPP helicopter unit, all failed to locate Burnside but wreckage from his plane was found the day after he failed to arrive at the airport.
Two Row Times spoke with Sergeant Dory Cooke of the Anishinabek Police Service – Christian Island Detachment. Sgt. Cooke stated that, “On Wednesday April 30, a local resident was out on his quad, strolling around in a remote area of the community. While riding along the beach, he noticed what looked like debris.” Upon further investigation of the debris, the resident found partial adult human skeletal remains.
Cooke didn’t know how long the remains had been there and stated that there has never been a report of a missing person on the Island which, according to Cooke, consists of “around a thousand people with an additional 400 cottagers.”
“At this time, foul play is not suspected,” stated Cooke, “We do have an idea of what may have happened or who the remains belong to. From what the detectives said on the scene, and seeing that the bones were bigger, it suggested that the remains are that of a male.”
Officers from Southern Georgian Bay OPP, Central Region Crime Unit, Forensic Identification Unit, Emergency Response Team, and Canine Unit were dispatched to the Big Sand Bay area, where the remains were found to help in the investigation. The remains and other evidence from the scene have been taken to Toronto for further examination and to help determine identity and cause of death.
Cooke stated, “The remains have been transported to the Centre for Forensic Science in Toronto for identification. Full dentals were intact so it shouldn’t take too long to i.d. the remains.”
The Ontario Provincial Police, Midland detachment assisted with the investigation with the help from an Anishinabek Police Service detective. Asked on why police had ruled out foul play, Cooke stated that there was nothing to indicate foul play and that, “It also turns out that a plane crashed around here last year in early November. A search and rescue was completed at the time and they did not locate the pilot. Some of the plane wreckage washed up on shore near Wasaga Beach which isn’t too far from here. The pilot is still missing and the remains could possibly belong to him.”
The missing pilot of the airplane, Oscar Burnside spent his career as Principal and Vice-Principal at various elementary and secondary schools in Owen Sound and taught part-time at Georgian College after he retired. His family held a funeral for him on December 15, 2013 despite not having located his remains.
